- December 21, 2024
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An elite group of dragon boat paddlers from the Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton areas made their mark on the international scene, winning six medals, including two gold medals, at the International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy, in September.
Five Nathan Benderson Park teams – made up of 73 paddlers, all over 50 years old – made the trip to Italy to compete with 162 other teams in various age groups from 30 countries.
For the paddlers themselves, it’s a lifestyle that allows them to travel all over the world.
“You're able to do something at a fairly elite level, go to places that you probably would not be able to do otherwise," said Don Bickel, who was captain of the Senior B Mixed team. “I was with Team USA in Thailand … This year, Italy. Next year, we're going to Germany, where the 1936 Olympics was.”
“This is an incredible experience,” said Mandy Boyers, a member of the Senior B Mixed team and captain of the Senior B Women's team. “It’s been a great way to get to travel, to do something fun, and to stay fit.”
Paula Murray, a member of the Breast Cancer Survivors team that won gold in the 200-meter race, said when they arrived in Ravenna, teams were sizing each other up before the races even started. “You’re looking around and trying to figure out who’s really good,” she said.
“You’re competitive, and, you know, I want to beat these guys,” Bickel said. ”And then after a race, you know that you worked as hard as you could, and they beat you by six-tenths of a second. And you're like, oh, man, there's that fire to compete.”
Besides winning the Breast Cancer Survivors 200 meters, Nathan Benderson Park also brought home gold in the All Cancer Survivors 500 meters.
Angela Long, the coach of Nathan Benderson Park's dragon boat program, said the Canadian teams still hold the edge on the world level.
"The Canadians are tough. They are born with a paddle in their hands," Long said. "It's a bigger part of their culture."
Long said because the Canadians are only on the water half the year due to the weather, they spend more time in the gym getting stronger.
Even so, Long said Nathan Benderson Park teams performed well in all their events.
"We were the best from the U.S.," she said. "It was our first world championship traveling as a full program and we were very competitive in our divisions."
The fact that the Nathan Benderson Park paddlers are competing against the best in the world as seniors is not lost on the athletes.
“I’ve played all kinds of sports,” said Tim DiMenna, who was captain of the Senior C Mixed team. ”I never thought I’d be competing in a sport, at such a high level, at this point in my life.”
Bickel agreed.
“At this age, you start to respect and appreciate the competition and our health,” he said. “I'm 58 years old. I'm able to get out here and I'm able to do this … and be active and train, and have the strength and have the endurance and everything that we put into it.”
There's more competition on the horizon. Several members of the Nathan Benderson Park group will be trying out for Team USA, competing for spots in the over-40, over -50 and over-60 teams.
After the competition in Italy, many team members had the chance to spend additional time in the country. For Boyers, it was her first time there.
“Italy was awesome,” she said. “I did a week after, just for fun. I got to see Tuscany and Florence, and it was lovely. Can't wait to go back.”
The best thing about Italy? “The gelato,” she said. “Oh, my God, I loved it.”
“All the food was good,” Murray said.
Bickel says while the teams strive for gold medals, the hard work and training has made them a tight-knit community.
“We will always like to be recognized as far as how well we did,“ he said. “But we’ve all become very close as friends, and not only that, so has our club. We've got 150 members in our club now.”
He said they do things together outside Nathan Benderson.
“If something happens like a hurricane, we're all helping each other. You know, it's just our own little church, almost. You know, we're committed to helping each other. It's a very positive energy group.”
As the teams gathered for a recent practice, storms in the distance convinced some to decide not to get on the water. As the storms drifted away, a small group decided to put a six-person outrigger canoe in the water for a short workout.
It was all just a reflection of their commitment to training as a team, Boyers said. “To find a cohort of people that are like minded, and as crazy as us,” she said, “to get to do early morning practices and all the stuff that it takes to make it happen.
“The dragon bites you, or it doesn’t.”
